I did a course of it after a scare with a bf who was HIV+There were no real side affects for me, I took it as prescribed with no issues. My bf (at the time) was on different meds which affected him in different ways at different times.

My advice would be, like with any kind of medication, is to only take it if required- less you risk reducing its effect on the general population.

In the US there are programs sponsored by individual states in the country. So depending on what state you live in, you may or may not have to even pay for it. The other option would be to try to go through a study program. According to my doctor, she believes that at least 1200 people in the Seattle area are on prep. She's very happy that people are doing this as a way to prevent HIV infections.

The Gay and Lesbian Center of LA told me that in California, basic statewide public low-income insurance covers it.

As mentioned in another thread, I'm surprised at how many guys I'm encountering suddenly who make a point of saying that they are on PrEP. I've even seen a few on-line profiles of the "PrEP for PrEP" variety. But the ones who I've talked to didn't want to talk specifically about it. (They had other things on their mind at the time.)

I am interested to find out more about the IPERGAY trial that was going on last year. AFAIK, they don't yet have any publications, just a few conference proceedings abstracts. They were testing the proposition that "on-demand" PrEP would be effective. The participants took pills on the day that they thought they were going to have sex, and if they did have sex, for two days afterwards. But otherwise, just kept the bottle on the shelf.

The results appear to be a resounding success, according to the conference abstracts.

However, the CDC, which is apparently privy to the raw data, issued a statement that points out that the 400 French guys enrolled in the trial are apparently such coughslutscough that on average, by following the above protocol, they are taking the pills almost every day anyway.